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Gilchrist, Turkovic conquer pump track national championship at Redhead Beach

Mar 12, 2024

Ryan Gilchrist and Elleni Turkovic have dominated the field on their way to winning the pump track titles at the GWM Mountain Bike National Championships in Lake Macquarie this afternoon.

Spectators and riders could hardly have been treated to better conditions on the foreshore of Redhead Beach with temperatures in the mid to high 20s offset by the light sea breeze.

Open Men

Three riders emerged as likely contenders through qualifying, with defending champion Jayce Cunning, last year’s runner-up Bailey Meares and enduro national champion Ryan Gilchrist the only three riders to post sub-11 second times.

While Gilchrist was consistently fastest through the preliminary rounds, he was thrown a scare in the quarter final, when AJ Donald lay down a blistering lap of 10.676, only for Gilchrist to respond with a time of 10.543.

Gilchrist posted yet another sub-11 time in the semi-finals to progress to the big final, while Cunning overcame Smidt by a mere 0.03 seconds to set up the gold-medal match.

Cunning could hardly have ridden a better final, laying down a rapid benchmark of 10.742 seconds, only for Gilchrist to again rise to the occasion, posting the fastest time of the day to win the gold medal in 10.508 seconds.

Ryan Gilchrist celebrates his 2024 pump track title

Gilchrist was visibly elated when speaking to AusCycling after his victory.

“We're in such a beautiful place in the world, and we're able to race against such high-calibre athletes and I'm really, really proud to be doing it for Yeti Shimano, and the sport of pump track,” Gilchrist said.

“I feel like my roots are in mountain biking and BMX and I feel like this is a great amalgamation of those two disciplines and being able to put it all together.

“Racing in Austria last year in the 2023 Pump Track World Championships, I got myself a top-five result. Being able to bring it here and be able to represent the Australian national champion jersey and hopefully represent it at Worlds next year is going to be very special for me.”

Gilchrist flies to Rotorua tomorrow to compete at the Crankworx festival, where he will compete in the pump track in his new national champion’s jersey.

Open Women

Elleni Turkovic was the only female rider to go under 13 seconds in qualifying, posting the fastest time of the day with a lap of 12.454 seconds, almost a full second faster than her closest rival.

Turkovic progressed unchallenged to the semi final, where she posted another sub-13 second lap to see off Bella Schofield by more than a second.

On the other side of the draw, Connor Mielke bested Zoe Cuthbert by just 0.12 seconds to set up the big final against Turkovic.

Rising to the occasion, Mielke posted 12.805 seconds in the final – the only other woman to go under 13 seconds – but Turkovic would not be denied, laying down a brilliant 12.531 to take the gold medal.

Turkovic, who will also be racing downhill this week, said she has a soft spot for the discipline.

“I love the pump track. Go to it often. Yeah, so it's cool to take out that win,” Turkovic said, adding that she rides on her home track on Sydney’s Northern Beaches several times per week.

The 16-year-old said certain elements of the Lake Macquarie venue were challenging.

“In practice yesterday, the sun just glaring in your eyes. And the tight berms [are difficult]. It's a hard park, yeah.

“I’ve got Downhill Nationals on Saturday and yeah, I'm really excited for that. We’re practising all week, so it should be good.”

In the other categories, Lake Macquarie locals Luke Patroni and Noah Joyce took first and second place respectively in the Under 13 Boys title, while Under 15 champion Brooks Harvey posted one of the best times outside of the Open Men category with an 11.172 in qualifying.

BMX rider Ivy Gilbert showed her cross-discipline prowess by winning the Under 15 Girls category, while Eva Natalier won an incredibly close Under 17 Women’s shoot out, where Natalier and second- and third-placed riders Katarina Carlsson and Tyrah Bekinsale all finished within 0.6 seconds of each other.

Australia’s top pump track riders will return to New South Wales later this year when Dungog hosts a round of the 2024 Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships.

Full Race Results

Results – Pump Track

Open Women

  1. Elleni Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club) 12.531
  2. Connor Mielke (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +0.27
  3. Zoe Cuthbert (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) 13.468

Open Men

  1. Ryan Gilchrist (Coffs Harbour CC) 10.508
  2. Jayce Cunning (Hinterland BMX Club) +0.23
  3. Billy Smidt (San Remo BMX Club) 11.011

Under-17 Women

  1. Eva Natalier (Suncoast Hinterland BMX Club) 12.223
  2. Katarina Carlsson (Central Coast MTB Club) +0.66
  3. Tyrah Beckinsale (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +0.67

Under-17 Men

  1. Bryn Couzin (Western Sydney Mountain Bike Club) 11.286
  2. Kai Sinclair (Maitland Tenambit BMX Club) +0.03
  3. Callum Montgomery (Outlook Riders Alliance) +0.34

Under-15 Women

  1. Ivy Gilbert (Sydney BMX Club) 12.703
  2. Kirrily Gates (Hinterland BMX Club) +0.18
  3. Madeline Lloyd (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +0.35

Under-15 Men

  1. Harvey Brooks (Knox BMX Club) 11.230
  2. Ruben Scarr (Central Coast MTB Club) +0.69
  3. Jax Alderton (Castle Hill BMX Club) +1.06

Under-13 Girls

  1. Jade Williams (Macarthur BMX Club) 13.199
  2. Lilly Brauer (Jindabyne Trail Stewardship) +0.81

Under-13 Boys

  1. Luke Patroni (Lake Macquarie BMX Club) 11.743
  2. Noah Joyce (Lake Macquarie BMX Club) +0.09
  3. Lincoln Taylor (Castle Hill BMX Club) +0.78

2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships

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The 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships are proudly supported by Lake Macquarie City Council, and the NSW State Government through tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

Images: Matt Rousu Photography

Written by
AusCycling
Disciplines
Mountain Bike